Originally posted by dtg_9er:
Would Eddie D have hired a first time head coach with no experience with the offense? Only if he already worked for the team and showed superb ability. Would he have made Singletary the Assistant HC? No, not enough experience.

If Smith had the same first three years with good coaches? No, he would have been gone.

Was Mr. D. the personnel guy? Last time I checked he hired people to do that for him. There are just way to many variables here. One thing I do know. Mr. D. would back whomever Harbaugh wanted. And right now Harbaugh says he wants Smith.

Then again, try completing this sentence with any other front office other than ours "Even though he never lived up to the expectations of being the first overall pick in the 2005 draft, Alex Smith was still given 4 separate contracts totaling over $71 million over a 10 year period by the [FILL IN THE BLANK]." Yeah, good luck with that.

8 years, 1 win when throwing for 300+ yards. That's a record all right, but not the kind that Eddie would have stood for.

Originally posted by LifelongNiner:
Smith would've definitely been gone. We can take this further and say he would've never hired Mike Nolan (which means no Mike Singletary also) or Dennis Erickson There are a lot of things that would've been different.

Originally posted by Faraz80:
Seems like everyone is in agreement. The diehard Smith supporters just brush the topic away with "well, we wouldnt even be in that position, so I dont have to answer".

Anyways, the point I was trying to make is that Niner "culture" sure has changed over the years, and it seems like so has the fanbase's mentality.

Smith was gone. For 2 years essentially, from mid 2007 through mid 2009. We experimented with a number of QBs during that time: Dilfer, Weinke, Hill, O'Sullivan, Davis. What I mean for this to demonstrate is that "getting rid of Alex" isn't a magic bullet. You have to be able to replace him with someone, and my elite QB tree is bare this time of year . I'm an Alex supporter because at this point he is the best option we have. And Eddie would have been faced with the same issue, since we don't always happen to have Steve Young waiting on the bench.

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